irratic waking 18 week old

[macsmum]

I am looking for some advice my ds did sleep a good 7 hour stretch at about 8 weeks old then all changed i assume due to growth spurt and the fact that i didn't change to 4 hour easy when i should of done.now on 4 hour easy
naps 2 a day one at about 9am 1 hour other at 1pm ish for 1 and half hours
mac is bottle fed and is aking usually twice a night at different times

for the last 2 night he has gone to bed as normal at 7.3o pm only to wake b4 10pm, hungry taking about 6oz milk his last feed b4 bed being at about 6.45pm, he then woke last night again at 12.30pm not hungry just fussy i managed after 1 hour to get him back to sleep with shush/pat but then he was up at 6.15pm.no amount of shush/pat helped so at 6.50 am we got up and i fed him about 7.10am

no two nights are really the same he takes on average 4 8oz bottles during the day, if he wakes again tonight say around 10pm should i then try either a dream feed or wake to sleep

any ideas would be much appreciated, i am trying not to feed him after midnight as he doesn't take much and obviously doesn't need food i want to avoid taking the easy option as i did with his sisters who were both nearly 3 when they finally slept though the night

[Colin Macs Mom]

Hi macsmum, welcome to BW!

When you have fed him after midnight, how much did he take? Are you certain that he doesn't need it? I ask because 18 weeks is normal to still be taking a night feed.

Can you please post your daily routine so I can have a look and see if there is anything that might be contributing?

[macsmum]

daily routine as follows
eat at 7am
activity till 8.3oam
sleep 9am usually till 10.30am
eat 11am
activity till about 1pm
sleep about 1.30 anywhere between 30mins to 1 and a half hours
eats about 3
activity
cat nap at about 4.30 to 5pm
eat 7pm
bath then bed between 7.30 to 8pm, i think we have a pretty good routine but i was late changing to 4 hour routine, but he is a big boy nearly 19lb already but when waking in the night he only takes 2 ounces unless i push for him to take more, he has roughly 4 8 ounce feeds in the day

[Colin Macs Mom]

Looks to me like he's not getting enough sleep during the day. At 18 weeks he should be napping more like 2x2hrs and the evening catnap. Have you tried extending his naps?

[macsmum]

well (I'm laughing here) these are extended naps only had 3o Min's at both naps until last week, i can usually get a good Length nap out of him but he has started nursery now and today for example this is how he slept
9.35 till 10.30
11.05 till 11.30
12.30 till i picked him up at 1pm
he the slept for me from 2pm till 3pm
then a catnap 30Min's about 5pm
today has been out of sorts due to a particularly bad night and he was up at 6am
the going to nursery does seem to have thrown him a little i started earlier than necessary as i wanted to minimise disruption for him and thought if i did it gradually and at an early age he would accept it better, but they r now struggling to get him to take a full feed so when i pick him up at 1pm he is hungry he will only take the ounces that he missed at11am and will then have his normal 8ounces at 3pm

[Colin Macs Mom]

Goodness 

A change in environment like that can definitely disrupt sleep - how long has he been going to nursery now? I would expect a wonky period for adjusting.

[macsmum]

has been going now for 5 weeks only 2 half days for now till i go back to work full time in july,
i think the best plan for now is to feed him when he wakes, if he has gone four hours between feeds cos he could be hungry. i dont really want to push him too much cos b4 when he slept 7 hrs or more he did it by himself, he can settle himself fine at bed time, but he likes his blanket partially over his face.
what do u think, i will try to increase his daytime naps from tommorow
thanks for your time

[Colin Macs Mom]

Yeah, at 18 weeks he likely still needs a night feed. But if he only takes two ounces that makes me wonder if it's more habit than need. My DS took a night feed until about 6.5 months but we never did a dreamfeed.

[Kimberly®]

I agree with colin mac's mum on the advice she has given.
It also sounds like he may be overtired.

Try moving bedtime to 7pm and it may help. In the evenings if they're overtired for bedtime they tend to wake more often through the night.

Kimberly

[macsmum]

WILL TRY A 7PM BEDTIME TONIGHT HE DOES TEND TO GO DOWN VERY EASY AT 7.30PM VERY RARELY CRIES JUST GOES TO SLEEP.

WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW THAT GOES, HE WOKE LAST NIGHT AT 12.30AM TOOK 6OZ BOTTLE THEN WOKE AGAIN AT 5 ISH I TUCKED HIM IN AGAIN AND WENT BACK TO BED DIDN'T HEAR HIM AGAIN I HAD TO WAKE HIM AT 7AM

[Colin Macs Mom]

Fantastic! Keep us posted! 

[macsmum]

well its 7.30pm and he has been in bed asleep for 15mins he has took a full 9oz bottle at 6.30pm and had 2x2hr sleeps today plus a 30 min catnap, so fingers crossed, he should go atleast 6 hours maybe more?
god wish i hadnt thought that he will probably be up at 9pm u watch, please send lots of sleep vibes for me 1 great night will do for starters.
thanks to u all for the advice
will keep u posted

[macsmum]

WELL I TOLD YOU I SHOULDN'T OF TYPED THE LAST POST HE WAS UP AT 10.30, BUT TOOK 6OZ AND WENT BACK TO SLEEP THEN WOKE AT 3.30AM TOOK 4 OZ WENT BACK TO SLEEP, BUT HERES WHERE IT ALL WENT WRONG.

HE THEN WOKE AT 6AM AND WOULDN'T SETTLE SO AT 6.30 MY DH GOT UP WITH HIM I TOLD HIM TO TRY TO FEED HIM AT 7AM, ANYWAY HE WOKE ME UP AT 8AM WHEN HE THEN LEFT FOR WORK HE HAD DONE BUGGER ALL, BABY NOT FED OR DRESSED SO HERES MY PROBLEM IT IS NOW 8.30 AND HE WONT TAKE THE MILK, THIS IS GOING TO TOTALLY MESS HIS ROUTINE UP AND HE IS GOING TO NURSERY TODAY.

THE NIGHT WASN'T TOO BAD REALLY BUT THESE EARLY WAKINGS ARE BECOMING A HABIT.

[macsmum]

ok, so i have just picked him up from nursey, he never had a bottle before i took him this am so they fed him at 9am he only took 4oz it is now 1.10pm and he isnt hungry, can anyone shed any light as to why he isnt eating, he isnt grumpy.

he would normally of had 8oz at 7am and 8oz at 11am.
oh and now he has fell asleep